Postcards
by Skovko
Summary: Elias has been receiving postcards ever since he moved into the house from someone who doesn't know their father doesn't live there anymore. He's not sure if the sender is a man or a woman but he's hoping for a woman since he's feeling a connection with the stranger. The final postcard said they were coming home. The day has arrived.


Elias looked at the postcard again. He had received it a week ago. It didn't say much, but it said more than enough.

_"I'm coming home."_

It was followed by a date and a name. Always that same name. Chandler. He wasn't sure if Chandler was a woman or a man. He was leaning towards a woman ever since he got the mermaid postcard.

Whoever Chandler was, she or he was traveling Europe and sent postcards to their father. Apparently she or he didn't know their father didn't live on this address anymore. Elias had bought the house half a year ago. The postcards came from different countries. Always the same "Hi dad" greeting followed by one sentence.

_"In Greece I fell in love with black olives."_  
_"In Denmark I wanted to become a mermaid."_  
_"In Spain I learned to play the guitar."_  
_"In Italy I took a cooking class and I'm now able to make the perfect pizza crust."_

And a week ago that final postcard arrived. Today was the date she or he would arrive. He really hoped it was a she. Even though the person never gave much away, he felt like he knew them. He felt like he connected with them on a deeper level. He was well aware it was a one way street since she or he had know idea who he was.

"You're a fool, Elias," he spoke out in the air.

Someone knocked at his front door and he felt his heart skip a beat. Chandler was there. He ran a hand through his hair and walked out to open. He was greeted by her voice before he got to see her.

"Hi dad, my key doesn't work," she stared at Elias and blinked. "You're not my dad."

He stared at a sunburned woman. Her skin was red and looked itchy but that didn't take anything away from her beauty. Her hair was long, wavy and medium brown. Her eyes were bottle green and sucked him in right away.

"I'm Elias," he said.  
"Are you a friend of my dad?" She asked.  
"He doesn't live here anymore. I bought the house six months ago. I changed the locks last month when my bag was stolen with my keys in them," he said.  
"Oh shit!" She looked shocked. "Where is he? I gotta find him."  
"Easy, Chandler," he tried calming her down. "Come inside and we'll figure it out."  
"How do you know my name?" She asked.  
"I got all your postcards," he said.

He tried with a warm smile. She stared at him for 2 long seconds before she smiled back. He stepped aside and she walked inside.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asked.  
"Water is fine," she answered. "I just gotta call my sister. Do you have a phone I can use?"  
"Traveling without a lifeline?" He handed her his phone. "Here."

He walked out in the kitchen. He could hear her start talking in the living room while he filled a glass of water for her. When he joined her in the living room, she looked more relaxed. She finished the phone call, handed his phone back to him and grabbed the glass of water with a little sigh.

"Thanks," she said.  
"Is everything okay with your father?" He asked.  
"He's in a nursing home. He's fine. Apparently he's quite the hit with the caretakers," she said.  
"My kind of guy," he chuckled.

She chuckled back at him and emptied the glass of water.

"That sunburn looks painful," he said.  
"Oh, I ran out of sunscreen the last three days and I figured I could make it without buying a new bottle. I was wrong. It'll heal soon enough," she said.

She looked around the living room, taking in how it had changed from when she left to now.

"Same old room, brand new look. I like it," she said. "So you got all my postcards."  
"I kept them all in case you want them back," he said.  
"They would be fun to give to my dad so he can see I was thinking about him all the time," she said.  
"It was interesting to follow your journey," he said. "Did you ever become a mermaid?"

She let out the cutest laugh he had ever heard.

"Oh, that reminds me," he held up a finger. "One second."

He walked out of the room and came back shortly after with two acoustic guitars.

"Oh, wow," she smiled.  
"I heard you learned how to play," he said.  
"A bit. I'm sure you're better than me," she said.  
"I'll go easy on you. Let's do a classic. House Of The Rising Sun," he said.

They both sat down and started playing. He sang the song while looking at her. Her eyes kept sucking him in. He hadn't been wrong all this time. There was a deeper connection there even though they had never met before. He could tell she felt the same by the way she was looking at him.

"You got a great voice," she said once the song was done.  
"Thank you. You could have sung along," he said.  
"I can't sing for shit," she laughed. "I'll just stick to playing guitar."

She looked at his wall clock and stood up.

"I better go," she said.  
"Do you have a place to stay tonight?" He asked.  
"I can crash at my sister's until I find an apartment. We'll start hunting tonight over a bottle of wine," she said.  
"That sounds lovely," he said.

She walked out to the front door and he followed right after. She opened the door and turned to look at him.

"Thank you for letting me into your home and for singing to me," she said.  
"Anytime," he said.  
"Anytime?" She smirked. "Are you free tomorrow night?"  
"That depends," he smirked back. "What are we doing?"  
"Dating and getting to know each other," she said. "Unless you're not interested of course. In that case I'm just gonna tuck my tail between my legs and run off deeply ashamed."

He laughed at that. She really was the cutest thing.

"I'm interested," he said.  
"Great," she smiled. "I'll be here at 5 with groceries."  
"Groceries? You're gonna cook for me?" He asked surprised.  
"Italian," she grinned. "You got that postcard, right?"  
"Right! Pizza!" He laughed. "That sounds fantastic. I'll see you tomorrow."


End file.
